Commercial Photographer Takes to the Skies to Follow His Passion for Aerial Photography

Photographer Niaz Uddin first fell in love with aerial photography when he realized that the high altitude images, captured with a distinct perspective, helped separate him from the saturated photography market. His love for the sky was a perfect match with the genre and he soon found himself hanging out of helicopters to shoot the perfect photo.

Now, two years later, Uddin has moved toward drone photography, giving him the freedom to capture the world from a unique angle. “Drones are really fascinating pieces of equipment that can do incredible things,” Uddin tells My Modern Met via email. “Using Google Earth you can find incredible places and fly the drone directly to that location, resulting in stunning photos that no one has ever taken before. This technology really pushes the limit of the human imagination.”

Especially inspired by color, his vibrant aerial photographs pop with candy color hues that give a surreal touch to his work. It’s a purposeful choice by Uddin, who sees color as a reflection of his own thoughts. “I believe if we make life more colorful and exciting, we can inspire others to be better versions of themselves. My main goal is to inspire people with color because their potential inspires me. I’m hoping my photography will help change the perspective of those that encounter it in a positive way.”

And while the Los Angeles-based photographer has covered much of the West Coast, he has a dream project in mind that would take him somewhere much more remote—Antarctica. “I have been deeply in love with Antarctica for some time now. My vision is to capture a team of ballet dancers dancing in the south pole using the drone. I think it would be extraordinary, and different than something anyone has ever done before.”